


Parallel

by donniedont



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Bonding, Gen, M/M, Realization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2012-12-21
Packaged: 2017-11-21 23:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/603091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donniedont/pseuds/donniedont
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barnaby spends the day with Kaede and realizes that they they both had complicated childhoods.  A fill for the Tiger & Bunny Anon Meme.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Parallel

**Author's Note:**

> This was based around a prompt provided by a wonderful person on the Tiger & Bunny Anon Meme. The OP suggested that "Barnaby has a bonding moment with Kaede when he comes to the realization that they both essentially had to deal with growing up without their parents from the age of 4. Because even though Kotetsu tries his best (and is doing considerably better now!), even though she still has her grandmother and uncle, Kaede lost more than her mother when Tomoe died."

Barnaby wasn’t entirely sure how to bond with a preteen. He wasn’t particularly great at bonding with anyone, for that matter. But when he began having a romantic relationship with Kotetsu, he knew he was going to have to get closer to Kaede, especially because she was spending more and more time in their apartment. She’d appear for breaks from school, even random weekends to check out some form of entertainment or go as his or Kotetsu’s date at a Hero TV event.

While Barnaby was still working on forming a bond with her, he did enjoy her presence. She was much better at controlling her ability and sometimes she would show him the stranger ones she acquired. Sometimes her friends would visit with her and she would show off how she was able to talk to him without being star struck, a quality that he was pretty sure disappeared when he and Kotetsu told her about their relationship. He even went to a few of her ice skating meets and was taken aback by how graceful she could be. It had to have been a quality she got from her mother.

Kotetsu never begged Barnaby to spend time with her. He didn’t have to. After dating for six months with little conflict aside from their typical arguments on the job and the few about who would clean the bathroom, he realized that he was going to have to get to know Kaede better.

So Barnaby created a plan. He was given a day off from Lloyds and he decided that he would walk through the shopping district with her. She’d probably enjoy going there without her father squawking about the price of everything. He checked with her and she happily accepted the invitation.

“You don’t have to do this,” Kotetsu said as Barnaby checked his pockets. He was still curled up in bed, hugging their pillows tight.

“I _want_ to do this, Kotetsu,” Barnaby said, “I want to get to know her better. This is a good way to do that.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” he asked.

Barnaby laughed. “That would defeat the point. Besides, you still may get a call.”

Kotetsu shrugged. “Fine. Let me know how it goes!”

Barnaby walked over to kiss his forehead. “I think it’s going to go well,” he whispered.

Kotetsu kissed him on the lips and waved. Barnaby waved back as he left the room.

Kaede was sitting in the kitchen when he entered. She turned her head and smiled. “You’re finally up!” she chirped.

Barnaby shrugged. “I’m sorry about that. Your dad…” He decided that completing that thought in front of his boyfriend’s daughter was not the best idea.

“Say no more,” she replied, scrunching her nose. “What are we going to do today?”

“I was hoping to take you shopping,” Barnaby replied, “We could probably get lunch and all that together, too. Would you like that?”

Kaede nodded. “Sounds good!” She quickly gulped down the rest of her cereal and put it in the sink. “I’ll clean that when we get back, is that okay?”

“Don’t worry about that,” he told her, “We should get going.”

They walked over to Barnaby’s car and Kaede excitedly took the passenger seat. “I’ve never got to sit here before!” she exclaimed.

Barnaby smiled, even though he didn’t entirely understand the significance. Maybe it was just her being frustrated that her father always took priority to the front seat.

The drive was pleasant. Barnaby let her have control of the music, even though he didn’t particularly care for what she picked most of the time. He tried to ask her questions about school, her friends, things that interested her, but much like her father, she gladly moved the attention toward him. He found himself feeling as if he was in an interview.

Shopping with Kaede was an interesting experience. She gladly window shopped, but was quickly deterred by the prices. When she stomped away from a dress that would have been perfect for one of the Hero TV events, Barnaby said, “I hope you realize you’re not going to pay for anything today.”

Kaede looked up, her head poking from behind a rack of skirts. “Oh?” she asked.

“You’re taking time out of your break from school to spend time with me, I think it’s only fair.”

Her face began to sink underneath the rack of clothes. “I couldn’t accept,” she whispered, “Grandma gave me some spending money before I left. I’m only going to use that.”

He sighed. “It’s okay to accept a gift sometimes, you know…” he started.

She glared at him. “I can’t accept a gift that expensive. My grandmother told me that if I ever get a gift like that, I’ll have to repay it. I don’t think I could.”

He thumbed through several blazers, listening to the way the hangers clinked against each other as he shifted them along. “I… I understand,” he told her. For a moment he thought he saw a brief glimpse of his own past in her. He accepted the shelter of Maverick and certainly utilized his connections to go where he needed to. But most of the time, he was alone. He tried to find answers for himself and stubbornly rejected any handouts, unless they would lead him to the direction of revenge. There was no need to get into complicated loan systems with people, otherwise.

As he walked over, he realized that Kaede wasn’t that much different than he was. Sure, her parents weren’t killed in a savage fashion like his, but she did lose her mother when she was four, the same age as he was. 

Kaede noticed him and showed off a skirt that she found. “I think it’s in my size! What do you think?” she asked.

Barnaby inspected it, checking to see that the stitching was neat. “You should try it on, first. But I think you’ll look great.”

She jumped up and down, waving the skirt triumphantly.

“How about I bargain with you a little bit?” he asked, “If you fit in that skirt, I can try and get you a top that matches? I’ll make sure it’s something that you could afford.”

She hugged the skirt tightly to her body again. Her face scrunched up for a moment until she said, “Yeah, that’s fair. I’m fine with that!”

“The dressing room’s pretty close. I’ll show you?” he asked. He lead her to the dressing room and grinned as she skipped behind him. She disappeared into the dressing room and he waited patiently.

Barnaby was always surprised that Kotetsu even had a successful relationship as a Hero, let alone had a kid through it. Sure, his own relationship with Kotetsu was going great, but the fact that they were partners and had to work with each other made it convenient. Trying to manage a relationship, a child, and a job with erratic hours didn’t seem very feasible for most of the Heroes. He heard snippets from Nathan that he had dated people successfully, but other than that, he knew that Keith, Ivan, and Antonio weren’t dating. Pao-Lin appeared pretty disinterested in dating. Karina appeared to still harbor feelings toward Kotetsu, which Kotetsu either had no idea or pretended he didn’t notice. None of them had connections other than their families outside of their job. 

Kaede returned to him, holding the skirt triumphantly. “I took a picture so you can see,” she told him, “But I think it looked good.” She flipped open her phone and searched for the photo. “I hope Grandma likes it…” She brought the phone in front of his face. “What do you think?”

Barnaby took the phone from her and inspected the photo. Sure enough, she looked great in it. “It fits very well,” he told her, “I think you should get it.”

She grinned, darting to the checkout line. She stood close to him, texting to someone. As her thumbs raced across the keypad, she said, “I sent the picture to my grandma… she says hi.”

He nodded. “Tell her I said hello,” he told her, “You’re very close to her, aren’t you?”

She closed her phone and nodded. “Of course I am! She’s the one that’s taken care of me for years.” She noticed a cashier asking to check her out and she trotted over. She confidently paid with her money, even making exact change.

He watched her politely thank the cashier and take her item, darting over to his side again. “Thank you very much,” she politely told him, grinning.

She was mature for her age. At least, that’s what Kotetsu said. Barnaby was never really sure what that expression meant, considering the fact that he was considered that, as well. It wasn’t like he had a chance to act his age. Most of his childhood ended as the flames surrounded his house and his parent’s bodies at age four.

As they walked out of the store, his face fell. It wasn’t like Kaede had a chance, either. Not only did she lose her mother at four, but she lost a connection to her father. He couldn’t take care of her. He wasn’t dead, but he still wasn’t there. 

So she was mature for her age. Because she didn’t have her mother or father’s hands to hold.

“Oh,” he said out loud.

She turned her head, squinting at him. “Did you forget something?” she asked.

“No. No, I didn’t,” he told her. “Uh, would you like to get food after this?”

“Can we get ice cream? I won’t tell Dad if you won’t tell,” she said, bringing her pointer finger to her lips.

He couldn’t help but laugh. Mature for her age, but not an adult yet. He was going to make sure that she could take advantage of those brief moments while she still could.


End file.
